& Such?

I love looking at your collection pics Paul. It's clear by looking at them that they are owned by an experienced craftsman.

I have seen Hyde knives for sale, although I'm not certain where. I believe they are very fairly priced too. I think Osborne makes similar knives, and I've seen green handled knives as well. I just placed an order for tools, but I'll grab one of these on my next supply order which will be soon. Thanks for the recommendation.

Edit- btw, I was looking through the Weaver catalog and for the first time I saw what Osborne uses for their head knives, apparently 1075 high (medium) carbon. I'm not surprised that other knives have better wear resistance. My only knife in the steel is a 1/4" thick 8" survival type knife. Personally I wouldn't use anything less than 1095 on that type of blade, and o1 would be even better. I have no idea why they'd use such low wear resistant steel, but considering the reviews on the knife it makes sense.
 
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Its a wet day here and I'm stuck in camp bored , so I thought I'd put a pic of the toe protectors I made recently .
I've given a few away to some guys I shoot clay targets with and they seem to work well .

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Ken
 
Really nice Ken, at first I thought it was a stirrup until I saw the opening didn't pass all the way through ;) That is some hefty sewing my friend, cleanly done, I'm sure they'll be super pleased with that!
G2
 
Wow Ken that is super cool!! Extremely clean. I really like it. Wonderful work.
 
Here's a couple of pics of an "and such" I just finished and shipped. Rifle scabbard for a Marlin 336. Wicket and Craig saddle skirting with one coat of warm neatsfoot oil and a coat of Bag Kote over that. I'd not really used W and C before and I sure liked this side.

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I'm a Winchester man myself , but super nice scabbard , is it lined ?
They are something you very rarely see here these days . All the old ones I've seen here have a flap to fully enclose the rifle , I suppose it protects it from the elements and in particular the dust and sand . The ability to quickly draw the rifle from the scabbard mustn't have been a priority here .

Ken
 
Thats whats cool with this design. It fits just about any lever gun including my BLR as long as the scope is not mounted. I've had Winchesters, Marlins, Brownings, Henry's and a lot of the imports and copies. They all seem to fit well. No I don't line this one, however I give the customer the decision on roughout or smooth side out and most I make are roughout as is my personal one. So then you have the grain side against the gun so just like being lined. I have another scabbard pattern that I make for scoped rifles. That one is fully lined. And if a guy wanted I could always do this one lined as it would be very easy. I just finished another one for a Henry in roughout and from this same side. I'll post pics a little later. The wind is howling today, the scabbard would blow off the barn and into the next county. Soon as I can get pics I will.
 
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That's pretty sweet Dave. Is it intended to mount to a saddle? I'll be honest, my experience with tack in general is probably a little more extensive than most folks (I assume) but a lot of it still confuses me. In any case it does look like fine leather. Where did ya source it?
 
Hey Strig buddy. Sorry to hear that about your accident. Get bucked off your bike? Them broken ribs are no fun. Yeah that scabbard will mount to the saddle. Most folks like to carry it under the right leg muzzle forward. With that type rifle I like to go butt forward on the left side at a pretty steep angle. Here's a pic of my own personal one. I got the W and C from Hidehouse.

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Mine is made out of HO and one of the things I liked about the W and C was the warm russet color it oiled up as. The HC looked kind of pasty in comparison. I've grown pretty fond of carrying that rifle in this position. I use to do some pack trips into real big bear country and this rifle was very comforting. Carrying it there was very stable, didn't interfere with my horn (leading a pack horse or dragging firewood back to camp) and it was easy to draw. As a big guy I tend to ride big horses. There was one spot riding into called Dutchman's Flat, (north fork of the Kern area), where the bear scratch marks on the trees were above my head. The rifle is a Marlin Guide Gun in .45-70. Even though I never had to take it out of the scabbard its 3,500 ft lbs of energy at the muzzle was extremely comforting.
 
Daaang I didn't realize we had bears that big. I've seen a few over the years. Even had one come by the factory off of the 99. Must have been seriously hungry. The big cats have always worried me more than the Smokies though. Spent some time in the foothills and that's where the cats roam. Most of the time I had an assault rifle with me (shh) but those cats are ambush predators. Very very few attacks really, but still give me the willies.

Cool pic. So many straps though. I'd never figure all that out on my own. You know, the little experience I have with W&C, the stuff is definitely a warmer tone than anything else I've seen, even before oil. May just be my example though.

Nah not bucked off the bike. I actually haven't ridden since I saw that bike damn near go down at 75mph on the 99. I've been down a couple of times and, frankly, I just can't take much more hurtin. I'm probably gonna tap out as much as it bums me out. I really want that cobra stitcher. Just gotta wait till spring. Kinda embarrassing but I just had a bad fall. Passed out and when you fall like that bad things happen.
 
Here's that roughout rifle scabbard.

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This customer also ordered one of my Rangeflap holsters too. Got that finished as well, all ready to ship.

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Actually had another holster to do so I built both at the same time. The holsters are fully lined.

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I leave the strap extra long on purpose. If the customer wants they can trim it. Many times folks will have aftermarket grips on their gun and this will throw off the fit. The extra length allows the flap to close correctly. The extra length also allows the holster to be used with different guns.Thats one of the advantages of this holster design, it will fit many different pistols. My own personal Rangeflap holster works with 5 different handguns I have.
 
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Those pistol holsters are really cool .
Can you explain how they are carried or show a picture .
Also how do you attach the buckle , its a bit hard to see under the strap .
The rough out scabbard would be my personal choice , what sort of leather treatment do you use on them .
You certainly are a man of many interests and your talent seems to follow you where ever you go . :thumbup:

Ken
 
Thank-you Ken. Here's a couple of pics to show how the holsters work and how they carry.

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This shows what I call the Slot and Loop arrangement. This was the very first Rangeflap holster I ever made. Some friends were visiting family here from Wyoming one Christmas 6 or 7 years back. She'd received a Ruger Bearcat from her father in law for Christmas. So the husband snuck the gun over to the shop so we could build a holster for it as one of his Christmas presents to her. Couple of hours later this is what I came up with. Something I do different now is I make the strap for the loop longer (5.5"), and I rivet it on directly across from the slot. Not off set as this prototype is. I found that with it centered you can still carry it at an angle but it carries better straight up and down if that is what you want to do. This is our friend trying it on for the first time. Her sister liked the holster so much she went out and bought the gun so I could build a holster for her. Nichole (my wife) liked the little Bearcat so much I ended up buying one for her.

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One of the great advantages of this holster is its versatility, in that you can wear it just about anywhere. So here our friend Mary is wearing it in a crossdraw position in front of the hip.

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Here's Nichole wearing it behind the hip but still in a crossdraw.

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This is me wearing one of mine in a strong side position. Much bigger gun here though. This is an Old Model Ruger Vaquero in .45. Another advantage of this holster is that because of the belt attachment system, a big heavy gun like this feels like you are carrying a much smaller gun. A small gun like the Bearcat or the gun I carry the most out at the ranch, a Tokarov, you simply forget about.

For the buckle I make a short billet and put that through a 3/4" bag punch cut slot. Same way that the strap on the flap is done. This is then riveted (tube rivets). The loop, the flap strap and the buckle billet are all riveted on prior to the lining being sewn in.

For leather dressing either roughout or smoothout I use RM Williams Saddle Leather Dressing from down your way. Its pricey up here but worth it. My saddle maker turned me onto it and I like it. One of the great advantages of rooughout is it is pretty darn bullet proof, it'll take alot of abuse.
 
Marlin Guide Gun in 45/70! I had the opportunity to shoot one a few years ago and it was an amazing experience. The difference in loads for them is so nice, anything from light (felt like a 12 guage) to those super powerful loads that will drive your eyes out of their sockets. Cant remember the name of those violent loads, but they are not cheap and not kind to the shoulder or eyes. :p
 
Garrett Hammer Heads and Buffalo Bore are the amped up rounds that come to mind. They are pricey but man do things happen when ya squeeze one of those off. I'd always carry the Buffalo Bore when on those pack trips. Ya know what would bite me the most during recoil was the lever loop smacking my middle finger. The normal rounds like you said, pleasant and surprisingly accurate. Check this out Dwayne. Big boomers don't get much bigger than this. A one of a kind .700 H and H double rifle. A friend builds these doubles for African dangerous game hunting. But a .700 is big even by his standards. Thats two of my knives and one of my sheaths in the photo and you can see the empty shell case. I'd never heard of a .700 so I looked it up. 1000 grain bullet and factory ammo is $100 a round! I traded this guy for his stock cutoffs and got some amazing Exhibition grade Turkish Walnut for knife handles.

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Those are 8 inch knives to give ya a feel of the size of the round.
 
I remember reading years ago about the early Ivory hunters .
There was a guy called Sealous or something like that .
His gun was so big the recoil would break the stock and it had to be kind of sleeved with metal through the grip area .
It also dislocated his shoulder and I think from memory it detached his retina in his eye ( not 100% sure if that was him or someone else ) . Those old timers sure new what a real mans gun was . These days I suspect all they are good for is developing a flinch :)

Ken
 
I finally found it, its the LEVERevolution ammo. I have some for the wife's 30/30 Marlin. That stuff, at the time was simply stunning.

I thought .600 nitro express was stout! WOW! That thing is dangerous! :) I have a history in my family of detached retinas so I avoid the hard stuff, and envy those that can run them.

One of my bro in laws friends has a 45/70 revolver, seems like such a waste of a good long gun round, but to set that thing off at night would be quite the show.
 
Sheesh that's a big round! I do like big rounds. Ever seen the shells from those canons they have on the flying gunships? Red mist for anyone getting hit for sure.

African big game? I was gonna take my 9 and cap em gangsta style. No? Actually, now that I mention it, I knew a guy once. We went up in the foothills to shoot off a few hundred rounds (they were cheap then) and he started shooting a steel pole at eye level with his 9mm auto. We were about 5 feet away and the rounds were ricocheting. Never went shooting with him again.
 
Sounds very prudent buddy! Dwayne, I've got a buddy in AK. He lives next to a game reserve/park where the bears are not hunted. Consequently they have lost their fear of man. He and his wife are charged by grizzlies couple three times a year. As you can imagine that will get the ole blood pressure up. He does not go out of the house with out one of those BFR s in .45-70. Now if the B stands for Big and the R stands for revolver, I'm gonna let you figure the F part out all by yourself. I can't even begin to think about the recoil of a .45-70 in a handgun. I've not tried any of that Leverevoloution ammo but have heard good things about it. Butch, the guy that builds these double rifles considers anything under a .500 Nitro Express as a "small" caliber. I kinda figure a .22 as a small round not a .470 Nitro Express! My friend and I were out there at Butch's shop. My friend was working on an article for Sporting Classics about Butch's guns and my knives. I was holding the .700 while they were setting up the table for the photos with the antelope hide and the tusk. My friend asked what this .700 sold for. When he said $100,000 all I wanted to know was CAN I SET IT DOWN NOW. Plus at 25 plus pounds it is kind of a brute of a rifle to hold for any length of time. Ken I read that story too. That guy had a four bore. Even bigger than a .700 but not as high intensity. He switched to a smaller gun when his four bore malfunctioned and both barrels went off at the same time. Literally dislocated his shoulder. In the story I read he was getting ready to quit the four bore anyways as it was bad on the "nerves" causing a flinch.
 
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